Car-coupling



a. GOSHON.

Oar-Goupli ng.

No. 224,89-8.- Patented Feb. 24, 1880,;

Inventor.-

N-FETERS, PHDTO-LITHOGRAPHERV WASHING NITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH G. GOSHON, OF SPRING RUN, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SP EGIFICATIONYforming part of Letters Patent No. 224,898, dated February 24, 1880.

i Application filed December 31, 1879.

i To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH Gr. GOSHON, of

' Springltun, in the county of Franklin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Oar-Oouplin gs and-I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to car-couplings of that class which couple automatically, and, in case of any accident by which a car is thrown from the track, will unconple also automatically,thus disengaging the displaced car from the others of the train.

The invention is an improvement upon a patent granted me on the 27th day of December, 1859, and numbered 26,568. I

The improvements consist of certain details of construction hereinafter fully explained,

whereby the coupling is rendered much more simple, and is cheaper tomake and more durable and efficient in use. i

In the drawings accompanying :this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the ards a, and running parallel for their entire length. The front end of the lower plate of the drawhead is formed with a recessed incline, b, the surface of which incline is curved or rounded to form one side of the mouth of the draw-head. Upon the upper plate, and placed oppositethe incline b, is a curved plate, 0, in shape corresponding to that of the part b, which plate is composed of any suitable spring metal, preferably steel. It is centrally pivoted to the lower side of the upperplate of the draw-head, so that it can, if preferred, be moved in either direction on such pivot. This spring-plate, in connection with the incline 1), forms the mouth of the draw-head. 011 the upper side of the upper plate A is formed a recess, 61, and inside this recess, and

i below its upper surface, is a projecting ledge, 6, forming a bearing on which rotates a circular plate, f, centrally pivoted to the upper plate, A, of the draw-head. The plate f is recessed on each side, forming curved chain nels, which receive the springs g g, hearing at one end upon a stud, h, placed upon the ledge e, and at the other upon offsets z 1' upon the circular platef. An opening, j, is cut in the plate f, extending from its periphery nearly to its center, and when the plate is in its normal position this opening is at the front and in line with the center of the mouth of the draw-head. The pressure of the springs gg tends to keep it in such position, unless such pressure is overcome by any extraordinary shock or pressure.

it will be observed that this plate, revolving upon a pivot, takes the place of the transverse bolt which carries the pin in my patent heretofore referred to.

The advantage of the plateover the pin arises, among other things, from the fact that the plate will move from side to side on its pivot much more readily and with lessfriction than the bolt will move, the bolt being ordinarily pressed, either forward or backward, against the side of the it moves.

To the plate f is rigidly secured another plate, k, which is adapted to revolve with it; and on this plate It, suitably journaled in bearings l l, is a lever, m, which carries the coupling-pin. The forward end of this lever is forked, the arms forming the bearings for a block, n, which has afree motion thereon, and through a hole in which the pin is inserted, so that it can be easily withdrawn. opening is cut through such plate f of sufficient size to admit the head of the lever and the coupling-pin, which is thus loosely held in position, so that it may swing back and catch the link when it enters the draw-head.

The forked portion of the lever m fits easily within the recess in the plate f, and when such forked end is depressed said forked portion enters the recess, and the lower end of the coupling-link is brought opposite the mouth of the draw-head, where it is held in an inclined position, so that it will engage automatically with a coupling-link. a

The operation of this device under ordinary circumstances is as usual with linkand-pin A square passage in which I couplings, the link being automatically en-' gaged with the pin and the pin disengaged from the link by means of the lever; but if, in case of accident, a certain car in a train should be thrown from the track, the operation of the device is peculiar to itself, and is as follows: Under ordinary circumstances the sprin g-plate 0, in connection with the pin, has sufficient strength to hold the link in position; but if the car to which the link is attached be thrown from the track the violent pressure exerted by the lateral movement of the link would cause the spring 0 to yield or to turn on its pivot, allowing the link to pass over the edge of the incline, and the draw-head being open throughout its whole extent, the link would be separated from the pin as soon as it had passed such incline, the upper part of the draw-head being recessed, as shown at 00 w, to permit the pin to be drawn out, thus releasing the link. The springs which hold the circular plate carrying the pin would also yield to the pressure, and the pin would be brought around opposite the open portion of the draw-head, where there would be nothing to prevent its separation from the link. Under these circumstances it would be impossible for one car to throw another from the track, since the force of the shock, instead of acting on a rigid draw-head, would be exerted against yielding springs without effect upon the car.

It will be noticed from the construction that thelink is adjustable, and can be used to couple cars having draw-heads of different height.

The circular plate may be cast in one piece,

with a flange fitted to cover and overlap the edges, so as to secure the spring and keep out anything which might otherwise enter and clog the spring. The spring may be made of coiled metal wire or rod, or may be of rubber or of any suitable material. The spring also may be otherwise applied, it being only essential that there should be a spring to hold the plate so as to keep the pin in front of the central part of the mouth of the draw-head.

The draw-head may be made of wrought or cast iron. When made of cast-iron it may be made as cheaply as the ordinary draw-head. It isthus automatic in coupling, as well as in uncoupling under the impulse'of a violent lateral shock. The form of the draw-head may be changed, as Well as that of the circular plate and the springs, without departing from the spirit of my invention, which aims at an oscillating and swinging pin, said pin oscillating to couple, and swinginglaterally to uncouple automatically.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure, is-

1. In a car-coupling, the combination, with a pivoted plate having a rotary motion, of a coupling-pin carried by such plate, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a car-coupling, the combination of the pivoted plate, a lever carried thereon, and a coupling-pin, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a car-coupling, the combination, with the pivoted plate, the lever, and the couplingpin, of springs for holding 'the plate in line, as set forth.

4:. Ina car-coupling having a pivoted plate carrying a pin adapted to move from side to side to release the link, the spring-plate 0, attached to the upper part of the draw-head, and arranged in relation to the open sides of the draw-head, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination of the lever with a block pivoted between the forked ends of such lever and coupling-pin, substantially as and for'the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH Gr. 'GOSHON.

Witnesses W. G. DODGE, FRANK L. MIDDLETON. 

